The Banishment of the Cid XLIX
Of him I fain would tell you in good hour that girt the blade.The hill, where his encampment in that season he had made,While the Moorish folk endureth, while there are Christians still,Shall they ever name in writing 'My Lord the Cid, his Hill.'While he was there great ravage in all the land he made,Under tribute the whole valley of the Martin he laid.And unto Zaragoza did the tidings of him go,Nor pleased the Moors; nay rather they were filled with grievouswoe.For fifteen weeks together my lord Cid there did stay.When the good knight saw how greatly Minaya did delay,Then forth with all his henchmen on a night march he tried.And he left all behind him, and forsook the mountain side,Beyond the town of Teruél good don Rodrigo went.In the pine grove of Tévar Roy Diaz pitched his tent.And all the lands about him he harried in the raid,And on Zaragoza city a heavy tribute laid.
When this he had accomplished and three weeks had made an end,Out of Castile Minaya unto the Cid did wend.Two hundred knights were with him that had belted on the brands.Know ye well that there were many foot-soldiers in his bands.When the Cid saw Minaya draw near unto his view,With his horse at a full gallop to embrace the man he flew.He kissed his mouth, his very eyes in that hour kissed the Cid.And then all things he told him, for naught from him he hid.Then beautifully upon him smiled the good Campeador:"God and his righteousness divine be greatly praised therefor.While thou shalt live, Minaya, well goeth this my game."
Words in this poem
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
- girt v. t.
- To gird; to encircle; to invest by means of a girdle; to measure the girth of; as, to girt a tree. [From Girt, n., cf. Girth, v.]
- encampment n.
- The act of pitching tents or forming huts, as by an army or traveling company, for temporary lodging or rest.
- folk n.
- In Anglo-Saxon times, the people of a group of townships or villages; a community; a tribe. [AS. folc; akin to D. volk, OS. & OHG. folk, G. volk, Icel. f, Sw. & Dan. folk, Lith. pulkas crowd, and perh. to E. follow.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- wend n.
- A large extent of ground; a perambulation; a circuit.
- righteousness n.
- The quality or state of being righteous; holiness; purity; uprightness; rectitude. [AS. rihtwisnes.]
- therefor adv.
- For that, or this; for it. [There + for. Cf. Therefore.]
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Banishment of the Cid XLIX is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Lay of the Cid, Project Gutenberg ebook #6088, the R. Selden Rose and Leonard Bacon translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Anonymous, The Banishment of the Cid XLIX, in The Lay of the Cid (1919), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6088, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lay-of-the-cid/the-banishment-of-the-cid-xlix.html, id L15058.
Form and metre
The Banishment of the Cid XLIX is 28 lines in 2 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 64% of the lines. The metre is iambic heptameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 78%). 90% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 13.1 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending.
See other poems in rhyming couplets, other poems in iambic heptameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 AABBAAC-CDDEEFFAA bladeA · madeA · stillB · hillB · madeA · laidA · goC · grievous · woeC · stayD · delayD · triedE · sideE · wentF · tentF · raidA · laidA
- 2 AABBCCDDEE- endA · wendA · brandsB · bandsB · viewC · flewC · cidD · hidD · campeadorE · thereforE · game
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic heptameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Of him I fain would tell you in good hour that girt the blade. | 15 | ·········/˘···· |
| The hill, where his encampment in that season he had made, | 14 | ····˘/˘··/˘··· |
| While the Moorish folk endureth, while there are Christians still, | 14 | ··/˘·˘/˘···/˘· |
| Shall they ever name in writing 'My Lord the Cid, his Hill.' | 14 | ··/˘··/˘······ |
| While he was there great ravage in all the land he made, | 13 | ·····/˘······ |
| Under tribute the whole valley of the Martin he laid. | 14 | ··/˘··/˘··/˘·· |
| And unto Zaragoza did the tidings of him go, | 14 | ···˘˘/˘··/˘··· |
| Nor pleased the Moors; nay rather they were filled with grievous | 13 | ·····/˘····/˘ |
| woe. | 1 | · |
| For fifteen weeks together my lord Cid there did stay. | 13 | ·˘/·˘/˘······ |
| When the good knight saw how greatly Minaya did delay, | 13 | ······/˘···˘/ |
| Then forth with all his henchmen on a night march he tried. | 13 | ·····/˘······ |
| And he left all behind him, and forsook the mountain side, | 14 | ········˘/·/˘· |
| Beyond the town of Teruél good don Rodrigo went. | 13 | ·········˘/˘· |
| In the pine grove of Tévar Roy Diaz pitched his tent. | 13 | ········/···· |
| And all the lands about him he harried in the raid, | 13 | ········/˘··· |
| And on Zaragoza city a heavy tribute laid. | 14 | ··˘˘/˘/˘·/˘/˘· |
| When this he had accomplished and three weeks had made an end, | 14 | ····˘/˘······· |
| Out of Castile Minaya unto the Cid did wend. | 13 | ············· |
| Two hundred knights were with him that had belted on the brands. | 14 | ·/˘······/˘··· |
| Know ye well that there were many foot-soldiers in his bands. | 14 | ······/˘·/˘··· |
| When the Cid saw Minaya draw near unto his view, | 12 | ············ |
| With his horse at a full gallop to embrace the man he flew. | 15 | ······/˘·˘/···· |
| He kissed his mouth, his very eyes in that hour kissed the Cid. | 15 | ·····/˘···/˘··· |
| And then all things he told him, for naught from him he hid. | 13 | ············· |
| Then beautifully upon him smiled the good Campeador: | 13 | ·/˘˘········· |
| "God and his righteousness divine be greatly praised therefor. | 14 | ···/˘˘˘/·/˘·˘/ |
| While thou shalt live, Minaya, well goeth this my game." | 11 | ··········· |
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